Lakeith Stanfield (Sorry to Bother You, Atlanta) is set to star as Tybalt in Prince of Cats, the Legendary Pictures adaptation of the graphic novel by Ronald Wimberly. The production company gained the film rights following a bidding war.

Prince of Cats reimagines and updates the events of William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, placing Juliet's short-tempered cousin Tybalt at the center of the story, set against the backdrop of the 1980s Brooklyn music scene. It's been described as "the B side to Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, played at an eighties block party in an NY where underground sword dueling blossomed alongside hip-hop, punk, disco, and no wave."

Selwyn Seyfu Hinds (Beyond Beef: Jay-Z and Nas) will write the script for what's viwed as a potential star vehicle for Stanfield, following standout roles in such projects as Atlanta, Sorry to Bother You, Dope and Straight Outta Compton.

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In Romeo and Juliet, Tybalt becomes a chief rival to Mercutio and Romeo, and serves as the primary antagonist of the story. The comic, which is a slick recreation of the original  by way of The Warriors, shifs the focus to him and also manages to keep the dialogue in iambic pentameter.

(via Deadline)